As we count down the rich and storied history of Ohio State football, we look back at the 1931 Buckeyes. The Great Depression is in full swing as Sam Willaman and his boys hit the field.
Ohio State head coach Sam Willaman, now in his third season at the helm in Columbus, had improved his record in each of his first two campaigns. His Buckeyes would need to win six games or more in 1931 to hold that trajectory, but with All-American Wes Fesler gone and a tough schedule ahead of the Bucks, it was a tall order.
| The 1931 Buckeyes | |
|---|---|
| Record | 6–3 |
| B1G Record | 4–2, 4th |
| COACH | Sam Willaman (3rd year, 15–8–2) |
| Captain | Stuart Holcomb |
Games of Note
October 3rd • Cincinnati • Ohio Stadium
Cincinnati might have sauntered into Ohio Stadium with a little confidence to start the 1931 season, but they exited like most UC teams seem to do after collisions with the Buckeyes.
On a summer-like day in October, the Buckeyes absolutely demolished the Bearcats. Leading 40-0 at halftime, Ohio State played most of its bench in the 67-6 win. The Buckeyes dominated the stat book as well, gaining 468 total yards to Cincinnati's 32.
The beating was so bad the two schools would not play again for another 68 years. Since dropping back-to-back games to the Bearcats in 1896 and 1897, the Buckeyes had outscored Cincinnati 224-19 in the six meetings between 1900 and 1931.
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|
| OCT. 3 | CINCINNATI | OHIO STADIUM | W, 67–6 |
| OCT. 10 | VANDERBILT | OHIO STADIUM | L, 21–26 |
| OCT. 17 | MICHIGAN | MICHIGAN STADIUM | W, 20–7 |
| OCT. 24 | NORTHWESTERN | OHIO STADIUM | L, 0–10 |
| OCT. 31 | INDIANA | MEMORIAL STADIUM | W, 13–0 |
| NOV. 7 | NAVY | OHIO STADIUM | W, 20–0 |
| NOV. 14 | WISCONSIN | CAMP RANDALL | W, 6–0 |
| NOV. 21 | ILLINOIS | OHIO STADIUM | W, 40–0 |
| NOV. 28 | MINNESOTA | MEMORIAL STADIUM | L, 7–19 |
| 6–3, 194–68 |
October 10th • Vanderbilt • Ohio Stadium
This was the first game between Ohio State and Vanderbilt since 1909. The Buckeyes held a 2–0 series lead and had plenty of swagger after bashing the Bearcats, but Vandy didn't flinch and jumped out to a 26-0 halftime lead.
Behind the efforts of Bill Carroll, Ohio State mounted an epic comeback. Carroll scored two of the Buckeyes' three second half touchdowns. Unfortunately Ohio State ran out of time and Vanderbilt escaped Ohio Stadium with a 26-21 upset victory.
The Ohio State Journal gave this summary of the contest:
It will be a long time before the spectators who witnessed the struggle between the Commodores and the Buckeyes again will see a gridiron performance that had so much good and bad football in it from start to finish.
The poor play might have been a case of Ohio State looking ahead to the Week 3 match-up with Michigan.
| OPPONENT | STREAK | RECORD |
|---|---|---|
| CINCINNATI | W6 | 9–2 |
| VANDERBILT | L1 | 2–1 |
| MICHIGAN | W1 | 6–20–2 |
| NORTHWESTERN | L3 | 6–4 |
| INDIANA | W2 | 8–6–2 |
| NAVY | W2 | 2–0 |
| WISCONSIN | W1 | 5–4–1 |
| ILLINOIS | W1 | 7–11–2 |
| MINNESOTA | L2 | 1-2 |
October 17th • Michigan • Michigan Stadium
Calling Ohio State an underdog in this game would be an understatement. The Buckeyes were coming off an embarrassing loss to Vanderbilt at home, while Michigan was riding a 15-game unbeaten streak.
The Wolverines had outscored their three opponents on the year, 64-7, and the 58,026 in attendance at Michigan Stadium expected an easy win for the home team.
Bill “Blond Express” Carroll scored early to put the Buckeyes up 7-0 in the opening quarter. Michigan would answer with a touchdown of their own, but OSU quarterback Carl Cramer added two touchdowns to cement a 20-7 win on the road.
Details of the game from The Lantern:
Displaying superior football in every phase of the game, an inspired Ohio State team rose to heights never before attempted never fore attained to defeat a veteran Michigan eleven by a 20 to 7 score.
Finding their much needed spark at the beginning of the second half in the form of Carl Cramer, former Dayton Silvers star, the Buckeye football machine lashed the powerful Wolverine eleven into submission in the third and fourth quarters.
The win marked the first time that Ohio State had defeated the Wolverines in consecutive games as the away team. The Buckeyes are gaining a little momentum in the series as they have won three of the last four games. They now trail 6–20–2.
The momentum would be short-lived, however as Michigan would go on to win its next 22 games – going nearly three years before suffering another loss.
Here's footage from that game:
November 7th • Navy • Ohio Stadium
Following their big win over Michigan, the Buckeyes would suffer their second loss of the season, falling 10-0 to Northwestern, to drop to 2–2 on the year.
Willaman's team bounced back to beat Indiana in Bloomington, 13-6, before welcoming 3–1–1 Navy to Ohio Stadium.
The night before the game, pranksters struck.
A handful of Ohio State students were able to grab the Midshipmen's mascot, a dingy gray goat, and they proceeded to dye half of Bill the Goat scarlet prior to the game.
The students owned the mascot Friday night, while the players owned the field on Saturday afternoon, winning 20-0.
The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia's account of the scoring:
Playing in a constant downpour of rain and sleet, the Buckeyes used the "uncommon play" to score all three touchdowns. In the second period, with the ball at the Navy 35, a pass from OSU's Carl Cramer was deflected by Navy end Larry Smith–the ball ended-up squarely in the hands of Sid Gillman, who raced to the end zone for touchdown number one. Near halftime Martin Varner blocked a Navy punt, which was returned 32 yards by Junius Ferrall for OSU's second score. Ferrall also scored the final TD with a 20-yard interception return in the third period.
It will take 50 years for Ohio State and Navy to play again. The Buckeyes now lead the series 2–0.
November 21st • Illinois • Ohio Stadium
Since the inception of Ohio Stadium the Buckeyes had never defeated Illinois in five games on the Shoe's turf. The sixth attempt would have a different outcome.
The Illini came into this game with a 2–5 record and did not have a conference win. Willaman's Buckeye team took no pity on the slumping Illini and led 20-0 at halftime. The second half saw more of the same and Ohio State won 40-0.
Bill Carroll and Carl Cramer were responsible for Ohio State's six touchdowns.
The dismantling was the largest margin of defeat Illinois' head coach Robert Zuppke ever had in his 29 years of coaching.
1931 Recap
- Ohio State throttled Cincinnati, 67-6, in their last meeting for 68 years.
- Vanderbilt beat the Buckeyes for the first, and last, time.
- The Buckeyes beat Michigan in consecutive trips to Ann Arbor for the first time.
- Ohio State gave Illinois' head coach, Robert Zuppke, his largest defeat.
- Minnesota was the last game of the season due to postseason charity games created by the Big Ten to raise money for those affected by the Great Depression.
- Carl Cramer and Lew Hinchman were named All-Americans. This was Hinchman's second honor.
Ohio State showed flashes of a dominant team during the 1931 campaign, Willaman's third running the program in Columbus. They clubbed Michigan and Navy and destroyed Illinois. The Buckeyes did lose three games during the campaign, but played strong in the loss to Big Ten champ Northwestern.
